Are you being real about your aches and pains, are you in denial, or are you accepting more pain than your body has to have? Are you pushing away or repressing pain? Do you have belief systems or “stories” that are preventing you from feeling better now and in ten years from now?

From the perspective of therapeutic yoga, I use movement and breath awareness to help clients filter their “stories” to access their internal wisdom and move better with less pain.

Some common stories or belief systems are:

”This pain is normal for someone my age”
“More is better”
“I’ve had this ache for years, it will take years for it to go away.”
“If I don’t push, then I’m not accomplishing anything.”
“We all get stiffer as we get older”
-”I’ve always been this way, so I will always be this way.”
-”I need to push my body now to feel better 10 years from now.”

These are simply myths, they might have truth for some and not for others. What is true is that as long as we are living we get older; illness and accidents can happen. That’s it, the rest are stories.

Imagine you could be your own “myth buster” and knew how to honor your body so that it performs better for you now and ten years from now. Imagine you could do what you most love – long into life with more ease and enjoyment than ever before?

I regularly see clients shed long-term patterns of tension, or aches and pains that they’ve accepted as “normal”. In a short time, they move with more ease, strength and vitality.

Here’s a simple exercise:

Assuming you are seated at a computer, push your chair away from the desk to allow space in front of you. Rest your hands on your thighs. Notice your breath for a few rounds. Then slowly raise your arms to a comfortable height in front of you and lower.
Did your breath change?
Did you feel anything in your back, did your ribs lift or poke forward?
Did tension increase in your neck or shoulders – or anywhere else?
Did your legs or hips tighten?

These are all compensations – your body’s way of making the movement happen.

Now, for a few times, move your arms only as far as none of those compensations occur. This is pure movement. The more you move purely, the greater your range of motion of arm bone in shoulder socket will be. The more purely the shoulder functions, the move ease and strength you will have with less pain and tension. The more your create tension through movement, the move tension and pain you will have.

Now, imagine all your joints moving in their optimal range of motion for your body. That is how efficiency and true strength happens. That is how you can hike, bike, work, play – whatever your passion – longer, stronger with less pain, no matter your age.

To learn more, contact julie@gaiaclinic.ca or book an appointment with Gaia reception.